Strength: James Woods is on his game and turns in a riveting performance. Weaknesses: Pretty much everything else. This movie is unimpressive to the 2011 viewer. Its plot convolutions are utterly predictable to anyone who's seen a single episode of Law and Order. For example, the falsely accused guy is actually innocent. The "revelation" at the end as to who's behind it all, who the bad guy actually is, is beyond obvious. Robert Downey Jr. is mostly wasted in the film and given little to do (although it is cheekily interesting that an actor formerly known for his drug problems plays a character disgusted by Woods' defense of guilty drug dealers). The soundtrack is gratingly dated, immediately recognizable as music from the 80s. The direction sucks, on par with some of the director's other hack work such as the Good Son. The plot is by the numbers and the film lacks a theme. For a movie involving a mentor/mentee dynamic, the chance for redemption of an idealist who has lost his way, the way the justice system treats racial minorities, and justice generally,the director leaves you with virtually no food for thought. Perhaps on a Friday evening in 1989 in a theater, this was a passable, or even good movie, but 20 years, it plays as a snooze-fest from which one squirms to get away from. A poor film, could have been better in the hands of a better director.Again, James Woods is in a different, better movie.

Edward Dodd (James Woods) is a run-down lawyer who no longer shines the way he did 10 years ago. Back then he was writing history, saving the Black Panthers and stuff of the like. Now he protects drug pushers and street peddlers. Nevermind what excuses he finds for this gradual decay of affairs, for a skilled speaker and lawyer Dodd never ceases to be - this can be seen even as he defends crooks. Roger Baron (Robert Downey Jr) arrives to clerk for him and realizes the idea he had of Dodd no longer suits the reality of the man. Thus he proceeds to ask him to take a prisoner case.This courtroom thriller has all that kind of movie should have; we see a well-crafted pace that keeps you tied to your seat, the kind of acting from James Woods that is hard to find nowadays, Robert Downey Jr also dons the recently-graduated idealistic law student to a tee. The film is reminiscent of a John Grisham novel. Margaret Colin as Kitty Greer is also great. In fact, every actor in this flick does a better-than-average role. Lacking in cheesiness, having the proper pace, the kind of twists that make it just a little less than predictable, and good acting plus a nice mix of occasional black-and-white flashbacks with the present and an original score by Brad Fiedel (Terminator, Terminator: 2) that fits the pace perfectly make for a movie that is clearly lacking in recognition.Highly recommended thriller, 8/10.

Absolutely one of the best movies I've ever seen. Woods has the uncanny ability to make you feel like your witnessing an event first hand versus some other actors strategies of mustering up some half-baked emotion to match the script. Watching Woods in this film is like watching someone who is being filmed while they're all alone but they don't realize that a camera is on them. The movie is extremely action packed and moves at lightning speed. Also rather complex. I had to watch it twice to really soak it all in but loved every minute of it. After watching this movie I understood and agreed with Bette Davis when she said that James Woods was the best actor in Hollywood. All the other actors did a great job. They seemed to feed off of Woods fanatical high energy and roll with the flow.

Okay. I'm a huge James Woods fan, so I may be a bit biased. But a lot of these reviews on this movie are pretty unfair - *especially* the one where the only comments made about the entire movie was a detailed description of the "nightmare" Woods' hairpiece inspired for the viewer. C'mon, that has nothing to do with anything. (I, personally, quite liked seeing Woods with long hair for a change - but that's not the point of this review, so I'm moving on.)This movie's plot, about a disillusioned lawyer who has spent the latter half of his career getting drug dealers freed, and suddenly gets a chance at a case where he can really do something _good_ - namely, free an innocent man - is a story that packs a lot of power. And most of that power comes from Woods in his role as Eddie Dodd, the shambled attorney. Man, if Woods would ever find himself without work, he could always go back to school and go into law; raw passion, this guy has it. The court scenes are brilliant. Actually, all of the scenes are brilliant. You can't watch this movie without being amazed at the depths of emotion that this character is going through, all visible on his face, in his eyes, in his voice. The acting is superb. (A rarity with some more recent movies, in my opinion.) The character is superb. Woods turns him from a character into a real _person_, someone you can relate to, someone you can understand and sympathize with. Which is really what makes a movie great.The acting is great, the story is gripping - the audience can try to stay one step ahead of the characters, but good luck! Everything unfolds at a good pace, without getting either too slow or too confusing. Robert Downey, Jr., is both amusing and poignant as a green attorney working for Dodds; and Yuji Okumoto, as Shu, has some really in-depth scenes against Dodds. All the characters are great.It's got action, it's got power, it's got raw emotion, it's got _feeling_. The ending was poignant enough to make me cry. So, hey, if you like watching a film that will get your attention and maybe even make you re-think a few things about how America is handled, give this movie a try. Because, really, the hairpiece on Woods is actually quite attractive. ;-)